


change in appearance.

by razussy



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M, Haircuts, Oneshot, Other, few years before musical takes place, friendship tingz, sam sucks lol, they were robbed of screentime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24598165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/razussy/pseuds/razussy
Summary: charlotte goes over to bill's house after work to get her thoughts out, then suddenly has an urge to look... different. being a good friend to charlotte, bill helps the best he can.
Relationships: Bill & Charlotte (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	change in appearance.

**Author's Note:**

> they both had/have terrible marriages so they definitely would have a close bond due to this !! this takes place where char and sam's relationship is getting messy, ,, and she used to long hair because i like to think she has a poofy bob cut in the present :,,)

"alice is at her mom's this week, don't worry about being a bother."

charlotte watched him shed his heavy coat and shake it slightly, some of the rain water flinging off it. it was stormy all afternoon, drenching the two while they walked to and from their cars. all she had was an umbrella, which was closed and set outside the front door to dry off. she took off her shoes as bill did and left them near the door, and waited to get permission from him to sit on the couch as he turned on the dim lamps in the living room.

she was visiting for the evening due to being scared of returning home after an argument the previous night, still overwhelmed from the event. exactly what was the argument about? she couldn't entirely recall; she had been cooking dinner when sam came home from work, and they greeted each other for a brief second, as usual. she asked about his day and listened to him go on about some strangers that were doing petty crimes, mainly focused on getting the food ready for him. he didn't do the same, though she talked about what happened at the office, and mentioning her friends seemed to tick him off. sure, her group consisted of men, yet she thought it was wrong to be upset over - she told him this, and sam blew up. that incident was the first time he called her a few insults, which definitely hurt her feelings, and he left without eating.  
he came back later in the night, reeking of alcohol.

"it doesn't make sense, bill," said charlotte, as she rubbed her temples with her fingers. "am i not allowed to have guy friends? it's very hypocritical, since i see him hanging around random women whenever i happen to walk near his post when heading to starbucks."  
"hypocritical, and also unfair. i mean, i'm not even attracted to females, so why would i come onto you? then there's paul, who hasn't been in a relationship before and certainly would never try to get with a married person, such as yourself. i can't say much about ted, he's..." bill clicked his tongue, "interesting. you know better than to get with him, even if he isn't the best at keeping to himself."

she thought about it. none of her friends pose a threat to their relationship at all, despite ted and his nature of getting what he wants. what could sam be so upset over? is he just finding any reason to be mad at her, after having something taken away from them a year prior? or was he projecting his own actions onto her, thinking she's the one to try and do a sinful mistake? it was beginning to stress her out. she didn't want to have her marriage fail, especially after they have been partners for a while now already. she loved him, at least she thought she did, she can't lose her best friend and spouse. thinking back on it, to those women she's caught with him, they were always... more appealing, to put it nicely. friendly, too, lightly touching his arm or fixing his hair whenever it went in his face. their smiles glowing with happiness and flirty eyes checking him out. their curved bodies pressing against his for either a hug in greeting or parting. maybe he was getting tired of the same old thing - the same wife that kept her hair long and free, the same wife that wore boring outfits, the same wife that likes staying home with her cats rather going out on dates.

charlotte ran a hand through her brown curls, beginning to play and tug at them. "he had the nerve to call me a whore and some other nasty things, all i did was talk about my day. him getting upset with me having buddies is becoming more of an issue! and- and this is off topic from yesterday, but he just picks apart everything about me. my way of speaking he jokes about as if i can control my voice and how it sounds on a daily. my mannerisms that aren't even annoying yet it gets on his nerves, and he is very vocal on it. he gets pissed if i say no to questions or if i don't want what he offers me. he wasn't so cruel to me before... you know," she never liked talking about what happened, considering it was still a recent turn around in her life. bill only listened, a comforting hand on her shoulder as she spoke, and he took glances towards her fiddling with her hair.  
"i don't know what to do. i try to talk to him with all the patience in the world, and yet we still get into heated arguments. i'm not innocent to starting some but i don't call him names or raise my voice, i don't make fun of how he looks, i don't straight up ignore him while he talks or not attempt to make a conversation. i want to go back to how things were, bill, the future is looking scary and i don't think i can handle it."

oh, she's crying. when did that happen? she whispered an apology as she tried to wipe away her tears and force herself to stop, ending up in her letting out broken breaths and sobs. bill pulled her into a hug as she let out some of her emotions, and held her tight as if he was silently telling her she was safe. "it's okay, let it out, you're okay. what my ex-wife and i did was go to a councilor, they were able to keep us calm and have us take turns speak. we do have our problems still, but we are on manageable terms, for alice's sake. i can give you their number, if you'd like," he said in a soft tone, hoping she heard his suggestion. charlotte did, sniffling a bit before nodding her head without a verbal response. quiet minutes ticked by as they sat together on the couch, the embrace calming her down rather quickly.  
"i'll make us something to eat, since i don't think you want to go home anytime soon," he mentioned as she pulled away from the hug.  
"can i use the bathroom first?"  
"yes, you don't need to ask. first door to your left down that hall."

charlotte nodded at the directions as a thank you and got up on her feet, going where he described. the bathroom wasn't too big but it had what it needs: a sink, a mirror, a toilet, a shower, and a cabinet (for storage, no doubt). she closed the door, not bothering with the lock, then stared at her reflection; she looked rather awful, felt as though she could easily get back to crying. she tried not to, but the headache that grew and the tightening in her chest made her tear up once again. she wishes to go back in time and fill all the potholes she hit, no matter the size and impact it had. she wishes to feel happy to see her husband come home, kiss him on the cheek to welcome him back and offer a snack or drink after a long day. she wishes they didn't hide certain topics from each other, go back to opening up about what was on their minds or nothing at all. oh, to have a relationship that always had that positive energy and felt like she was on pink candy clouds; view the world as a lovely, bright place with its perks and beauty that masked the cracks and filthy reality. she longed to restart and experience all that again, but that won't come true if she does not put in the effort to fix the broken glass that's been jamming into her being.

she noticed a pair of scissors usually seen at salons in a toothbrush holder, and in a beat of hesitation by holding her breath, she reached for them. she looked back at the mirror and used her free hand to run through her hair, a feeling of anger grew in the pit of her stomach. this is silly, she thought as she glared at the curls with hate. changing how she looked for the hope the image of old charlotte was gone? cutting her hair as a way to signify she was moving onto a new chapter of her life, and how she's going to be a new person? it's crazy, really, that she was becoming one of those characters from a movie or book with metaphors of disposing the sad weight off their shoulders. with a quick, frustrated snip of the scissors, charlotte froze for a moment as she shifted her gaze down at the discarded curl on the tile floor. it's odd, seriously! it's odd she began to tear up, enjoying how it felt to destroy a part of her that didn't add onto her pain. she looked back at the mirror and slowly continued to snip at the ends of her hair, each dead strand dancing its way to the ground to be left behind and forgotten. she wanted to forget those strands and never remember, never look back. she kept a hard gaze on herself as she went on with her impulse, not paying attention to the tears falling down her tinted cheeks.

there was a knock at the door, causing her to jump. she opened the door quickly, the fear bill would get angry with her if she didn't, making awkward eye contact with his worried expression. he immediately noticed the choppy change on one side of her head while the other was untouched, along with the pair of scissors clenched tight in her grasp. this situation felt familiar to bill; when alice was little, she would always chop her hair whenever she was mad or sad instead of talking to him or her mother, as she didn't know any better and couldn't communicate her feelings. he learned how to properly cut or trim her hair to fix the mistakes she's done, and talk to her as he did, listening to her struggle with her words yet always give her some sort of advice. she's grown out of suddenly ruining her hair, though he still gave her trims whenever she wanted her ends cleaned from her. he held out his hand, patiently waiting for charlotte to let go of the tool and place it into his palm.  
she stood there without saying a word while her friend gently caressed her hair and cut it, tapping her whenever he needed her to turn her head in a certain way so he could make his way around and layer. despite how awkward it was for him to find her like this in his own bathroom, there wasn't tension between them; she felt quite relaxed, actually, comforted by his presence and the sounds of the repetitive snips near her ear.

she heard the scissors be put down on the sink, his hand fluffing her hair a bit before he confirmed he was done. charlotte turned her head in the direction of the mirror, shocked at the difference - her length went from her mid-bicep to just below her ears. she felt bill place his hands on her shoulders and gave them a squeeze, a reassured smile tugged at the ends of his mouth. it was a change for sure, and she liked it. she was making progress, though might need to take it slow. she played with her curls, appreciating how light they suddenly were, how it fit her face much better than she would've thought. she rested her hand on top of his, holding it lightly, grinning; "thank you."  
"mhm. come on, let's sweep this up then have some dinner."  
"okay," she sniffed once again and moved out of the statue position they were frozen in, watching him go into a closet parallel to the bathroom.

charlotte's lucky to have good friends, and she wouldn't trade them for anyone else, even if some thought otherwise.

**Author's Note:**

> i mentioned it before i think in a previous writing??? but the "incident" that gets mentioned a few times was char's miscarriage yiKES dark but it is the main thing that i think would mess up their dynamic to the max


End file.
